Dear Friends, Students of the Sword and Lovers of History,

We are proud to announce the debut of Freelance Academy Press.

Freelance Academy Press offers its readers both innovative books and rich supporting material in the fields of Western martial arts, American and European history, arms and armour, chivalry, historical arts and crafts, and related fiction for adults and young-adults. We accomplish this through the introduction of new educational books and timeless, carefully selected reprints. Each of our titles features innovative cover composition, clear illustrations, high production value and solid binding. Our goal is to give book-lovers a product in which the quality of the subject is matched with a notable degree of professionalism and cleanness of design.

Now Available: Our First Titles

As devoted students of Western swordsmanship, it is our particular pleasure to launch Freelance Academy Press with two compelling titles, ready for order today:


Venetian Rapier: Nicoletto Giganti’s 1606 Fencing Curriculum - Translated by Tom Leoni

Perhaps no other weapon represents “Renaissance Italian fencing” as powerfully as the rapier. However, do we truly know how this sword was used and how it was taught? Venetian Rapier transports you into the fencing school, or salle, of celebrated Renaissance rapier master Nicoletto Giganti of Venice. Giganti was one of the most influential teachers of the period, and a master whose instructions on the use of this weapon have survived the centuries. It is most fortunate for us that his 1606 text, The School, or Salle is a veritable training curriculum, complete with stepwise lessons and easy-to-follow explanations on the use of both the rapier alone and the rapier and dagger. This faithful translation of Giganti’s seminal work, by internationally-renowned rapier teacher Tom Leoni, includes the complete text, original illustrations, and an introduction on rapier fencing that enables the reader to easily follow Giganti’s text.


In Saint George’s Name: An Anthology of Medieval German Fighting Arts by Christian Henry Tobler

The medieval knight was a well-trained fighting man, expert in the use of sword, lance, spear and dagger, and a member of a warrior aristocracy whose values, virtues and vices helped shape European society for over 500 years. Providing an insightful, fascinating view of the medieval knight and his craft, In Saint George’s Name: An Anthology of Medieval German Fighting Arts brings readers a treasure trove of musings on the culture and the context of the martial arts in the late Middle Ages, hands-on training exercises for wrestling, dagger, falchion and poleaxe, and most importantly, the first English translation of the so-called “von Danzig” manuscript, the largest and most complete of the medieval German treatises. Join medieval combat expert Christian Henry Tobler on an expansive journey into the lost world of chivalric fighting arts, a journey that is certain to thrill martial artists, arms and armour enthusiasts, and lovers of history alike.

Coming Soon: Forthcoming Titles

We are confident that you will be as pleased with our debut titles as we are proud of them. But, just a swordsman cannot make a cut and then pause to see if it wins the bout, a publishing company cannot stand on their laurels for long. Therefore, we are happy to announce that the following titles are currently in production and slated for release by summer 2010:

In the Service of Mars: Proceedings from the Western Martial Arts Workshop, 1999 – 2009
The first of two volumes, In the Service of Mars: Proceedings from the Western Martial Arts Workshop, 1999 – 2009 is a visual and content-rich chronicle of the growth, in depth and breadth, of the Western martial arts community since the introduction of Western Martial Arts Conference in 1999. A compilation of some of the most popular and detailed lectures and class notes from the Western Martial Arts Workshop’s first decade, it is also far more than a “best-of” anthology. Ideally presented for both past and future Workshop attendees, each entry has been substantially revised, expanded, and in many cases, photo-illustrated by their authors in order to recreate the actual class experience in the subject presented.

Swordplay in the Age of Shakespeare by Stephen Hand
Stephen Hand, author of English Swordsmanship, Medieval Sword and Shield and former editor of the journal SPADA: An Anthology of Swordsmanship, now turns his attention to an in-depth survey of the fencing styles of late Elizabethan England. Designed specifically as an introduction to Elizabethan swordsmanship for Western martial artists, stage combatants and reenactors, this lavishly illustrated training guide compares and contrasts the swordplay techniques of Giacomo di Grassi, Vicentio Saviolo, George Silver and Joseph Swetnam.

Journal of the Armour Research Society
We are pleased to inaugurate our Arms and Armour catalog with the long-anticipated second volume by the renowned Armour Research Society. This research journal will feature articles by Fabrice Cognot, Jiří Hošek, Martijn A. Wijnhoven, and Douglas Strong.

Master of the Guild, the Fight Book of Master Peter Falkner by Christian Henry Tobler
Our first, full-color facsimile is a reproduction of a beautiful and little seen 15th century fencing treatise by the Hauptmann (Captain) of the famed Marxbrüder fencing guild, covering the longsword, messer, wrestling, staff, dagger and armoured combat.

These are just a few of the many titles currently in production at Freelance Academy Press. Rest assured that we will make regular announcements of all new titles and materials to be offered.

Freelance Academy Press: Something Different

Our goal is to be more than just another publisher, and our name “Freelance Academy Press” reflects our core structure and philosophy. As with many modern expressions, the origin of the term freelance has largely been forgotten. Originally, a “free lance” was a knight for hire, which in the modern world now means an individual hired to do contracted work.

The foundation of a publishing house is determined by the quality and diversity of its catalog. We are keenly aware that the structure of our business is built on establishing solid, enduring partnerships with our freelancers – our authors. That is why we collaborate with our authors to shape and refine their vision into a work that will withstand the test of time.

If freelance is our structure, then academy is our philosophy. Since we are passionate students of the subjects we publish, we are invested in seeing interest and knowledge of our titles grow on a global basis. We carefully choose titles and materials that lead readers on a historical journey that does not merely end with the final page of a book. Instead, our philosophy incorporates the three-tiered approach of Discover-Learn-Experience:

Discover - Freelance Academy Press broadcasts and promotes the existence of fascinating topics such as Western martial arts and the modern communities that exist within this rapidly expanding arena. By doing so, we help these communities to grow and we encourage interaction between the individuals within them.

Learn - We provide high-quality instructional and translational works for our readers. Because even the most scholarly of historical works should not be dry and boring, we emphasize readability and visually-compelling presentation in order to make your journey back in time a stimulating adventure.

Experience – In today’s publishing world, a press must be about communicating ideas, not merely about printing books or DVDs. We encourage you to return to our website, in particular our blog, time and again. We promise that you will find it to be an ever-growing repository of supplemental training documents and video clips, featured interviews and Q&As with leading researchers and instructors, and free downloadable e-books and translations. As a further bonus, subscribers to our periodic newsletter will receive “sneak peaks” and advance news of new title releases, as well as pre-order discounts and a few other surprises.

In short, Freelance Academy Press is run by aficionados of Western swordsmanship, for aficionados of the Art of the Sword. We seek to forge an interactive, on-going relationship between reader, author and publisher that is well beyond the model of a traditional press. We invite you to come to www.freelanceacademypress.com now and join us on this odyssey.


Freelance Academy Press: Interact with History

Hi Tom,

This is great news.

I'll definitely be picking up a copy of Giganti ASAP.

We should talk soon.

Chris

I'd forgotten to ask - are these first two offerings not only ready to order, but ready to ship, or are they in an 'order now and ship when they're finished at the printer shop' stage of readiness?

Doesn't matter to me that much either way, but the sooner I have a copy in my hands, the soon I can start reading it

Chris

It's option 1. I trust you'll like the book, Chris--I'll give you a buzz next week (gone for the weekend, maddeningly busy right now), we are overdue for a chat.

Tom

That sounds good Tom. I'm sure I will absolutely love the book.

I forgot to ask - does this contain the supposedly plagiarized book II?

Have a good weekend.

Chris

No, this is only the original 1606 Giganti curriculum on rapier and rapier and dagger--one of the best Italian swordsmanship texts of all time, purely based on the fact that it is a curriculum as opposed to a treatise.

Tom

Thanks for the info. I wasn't sure which version the book II material came from.

I can't wait to get my copy.

Chris

My copy of Venetian Rapier arrived today. I haven't had the chance to read it cover to cover, but I've made fair progress on it. This is a very sharp, smart, focused book, with simple, clear instructions. This is a book clearly written more to students than instructors, and bridges the gap between Treatises like what Fabris wrote, and the more . modern how-to book with a series of drills and lots of step by step, inch by inch sort of descriptions, such as Maestri Barbasetti and Gaugler have written.

This is a must have for Italian rapier fencers, and frankly should be a book that all Italian fencers of later systems own as well - if for no other reason than it shines a great deal of light on where the later systems come from, and is a fantastic buy.

Physically, the book is a rather nice perfect-bound paperback, with good print quality on nice paper.

If you want to have any hope of claiming to be well read in Italian rapier literature, Giganti is a must.

Gee Chris, why don't you give me a few more papercuts and pour lemon juice on them? Mine's still on it's way here to Australia!

mutter mutter mutter

Richard

I think you're going to really like it. This is a book that I would use to teach a rapier class, if I were going to teach one. Not from a 'ok, class, turn to page 40 and do the drill ten times' perspective, but from the perspective of providing read-ahead material keyed to a syllabus of my own making, in order to provide illustration of theory and practice textually in addition to a nice drawing. The beauty of Giganti is that he doesn't provide nearly the temptation for distraction that Fabris does, with his dizzying array of guards and variations on themes. It's tightly focused, and I think Tom's intro materials are a fabulous primer for new students.

That about sums up everything I wanted to say! I also just received my copy, and I read it cover to cover in one reading. I've had some cobbled together translations of different sections of this work that I've used in the past, and none of those were things I could easily read. Tom's translation reads just like the book were written originally in modern English. Plus, this is one of those works that really is just very user friendly. Its much more concise than works like Fabris, and a heck of a lot easier to understand than Capoferro, and its even more pragmatic than Alfieri. While Fabris still ranks as my personal favorite, Giganti's work is a close second, thanks to how well he sums up the art in so few words. Its become ten times more enjoyable with Tom's wonderful translation. Thank you, Tom, you've done yet another wonderful service to the community!

Chris, Bill,

You mind if we use your reviews on our website?

Adam

Feel free to do so with mine.

You may wish to edit for grammar/spelling. I can see at least one error in the form of a . in the middle of a sentence.

Chris

No problem! Since I wrote it as a forum post, go ahead and delete the first sentence where I'm agreeing with Chris, and replace the second sentence to say:

I just received my copy of Venetian Rapier yesterday and read it cover to cover in one sitting. Today I read it again.

Thanks guys!

Adam